Matty Breisch Articles - Page 170

As you almost certainly know, Hook is the new FTW Champion. He won the belt off of his fellow former member of Team Taz, Ricky Starks, at AEW’s Fight for the Fallen after the former got a bit too cocky after an in-ring win over Danhausen, took photos with the belt and his father to […]

As, well, basically every fan of professional wrestling surely knows, Friday nights at 8 pm is when WWE’s SmackDown airs on FOX… except during football season, which is when the process of preemption starts to rear their ugly heads and fans suddenly have to scramble for when and where to watch their favorite show. So […]

In the modern professional wrestling world, everyone sort of knows everyone. Sure, some performers are lifers in WWE, AEW, NJPW, or elsewhere, but there isn’t a performer on a major promotion who doesn’t know someone who is either signed to another company or wrestled for another company before their current landing spot. Because of this […]

When the WWE Universe said goodbye to Hit Row, it felt like a mistake. Initially called up to the main roster in October of 2021 as part of the WWE Draft after a very successful run in NXT capped off with a win by the group’s de facto leader, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, winning the North […]

Once upon a time – read: two months ago – Konosuke Takeshita was considered the best-kept secret in AEW. The pride of Osaka, Japan, Takeshita is one of the most decorated performers in the history of DDT Pro Wrestling – the promotion responsible for a guy you may have heard of by the name of […]

The WWE Universe is in a weirdly good spot at the moment. On one hand, the company’s booking is drawing rave reviews from across the wrestling world, with fans already labeling Triple H a late entrant for Tony Khan’s Booker of the Year award. But then again, just because the weekly additions of former NXT […]

Welp, it’s official: The AEW World Trios Championship Tournament has been announced, and fans, as they say, are stoked. Ari Daivari’s Trustbusters will make their Dynamite debut, the Young Bucks will wrestle alongside a mystery opponent who, by his own admission, isn’t “Hangman” Adam Page, and Will Ospreay and his Aussie Open buddies are heading back to […]

When it comes to being a wrestling fan, of AEW, ROH, NJPW, or even WWE, name changes are just a part of the business. Wrestlers change companies, alliances, and gimmicks all the time, whether due to a change in employer or an attempt to get over with the crowd. Specifically, wrestlers entering WWE often get […]

Unlike in the WWE, where rematches come fast and lose on both television and house shows, AEW has been much more stingy with giving fans a second bite of a big-time bout. Sure, some matches get replayed over and over again, with Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss going to war for months on AEW Dark […]

When Chris Jericho, in his newly re-tailored Lionheart getup, took the ring against the Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley as the main event of Quake by the Lake, fans knew they were going to be treated to an exciting event they’d remember forever, but goodness, it’s hard to imagine anyone saw what was coming, […]

Theoretically, AEW has enough performers under contract that they could field an NCAA-style 64-team tournament to decide on the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions. They could field multiple teams from the same factions, call up performers from AEW Dark, and even bring over Ring of Honor performers like The Righteous and current ROH Six-Man Champions, […]

In the two years since leaving the WWE, Erick Redbeard, aka Erick Rowan, has wrestled 24 matches, including notable bouts for GCW, NEW, CYN, The Crash, IWR, and one very interesting bout for AEW, where he, alongside PAC and Penta Oscuro of Death Triangle, turned in an absolute barnburner in a Revolution Buy-In bout versus […]

Paul “Triple H” Levesque, as they say, is having himself a moment within the WWE Universe. His new booking philosophy has drawn rave reviews industry-wide, his tasteful decision to bring back some of his formerly released NXT standouts has made the company’s weekly television output must-watch, and his commitment to actually having long, entertaining wrestling […]

Tony Khan and the AEW Galaxy find themselves in a very interesting spot at the moment. On paper, the promotion is doing great, with three soldout Pay-Per-Views already on the books, an ever-expanding collection of some of the best wrestlers on the planet under contract, and a new brand, Ring of Honor, folded further into […]

It should go without saying at this point that the injury bug has hit AEW hard as of late. From losing their world champion, CM Punk, to a leg injury earlier this year – a situation that was saved from absolute disaster thanks to Jon Moxley’s incredible run as interim champion – to two-thirds of […]

“Hey everyone, since Elias is gone, I’m going to be taking over his Instagram, I’m his younger brother – Ezekiel!” With this single sentence posted on his/his brother’s Instagram page, the most entertaining angle on RAW in what felt like forever burst into the WWE Universe and took on a life of its own. The […]

Did you happen to catch the final match on RAW this week, WWE fans? It was… sort of weird, right? Like, A.J. Styles won his fun, No Disqualifications match over The Miz, he looked to the left of the commentator’s table, and then the show just sort of… slithered off into Snake in the Grass, […]

Heading into Monday’s edition of RAW, the entire WWE Universe had their collective eyes fixed on one match and one match alone: Ciampa vs. Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship. In the eyes of many, the momentum was firmly in the corner of the “Blackhearted” former NXT Champion, as he was coming off of […]

After being absent from television for the entire summer, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship is officially back, and business is picking up for the brand-less belts. Initially secured at WrestleMania 38 by the dynamic duo of Sasha Banks and Naomi, the belts were officially vacated back in May, when, after the duo walked out […]

Parker Boudreaux is officially a member of the AEW Galaxy. No, the company hasn’t issued a press release announcing the former member of NXT’s addition to the roster, delivered an “Is All Elite” graphic, or even added him to the official roster page on their website – Don’t believe me? Check for yourself here –  […]

Ever since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took up the reigns as the creative lead of the WWE Universe, the business, as they say, has changed forever. WWE has gone from the place where creative performers go to die, where high-flying big men get grounded, and where performers who commission Tom “Freakin” Savini of Friday the […]

It’s here; it’s finally here: WWE’s Monday Night RAW is officially upon us. Now granted, that’s nothing new; the show has been airing on one network or another every week since all the way back on January 11, 1993, but over that tenure, few episodes have been as exciting, as anticipated, and as gosh-darn potentially […]

There’s a long-standing tradition in professional wrestling of having a top guy feud with the booker. WWE drew money from the angle when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin went to war with Mr. McMahon, Vince Russo got into heated angles with, well, pretty much everyone really, to the point where Impact had to fire him when […]

If there’s one thing Rey Mysterio knows a thing or two about more than, well, pretty much anybody on earth, it’s being a good luchador. Yes he’s small, yes his booking matters more than most in the eyes of some “traditional” fans, but for 33 years and counting, there hasn’t been a performer in WWE, […]

It’s hard to look at Forbidden Door, the AEW x NJPW Pay-Per-View as anything other than a resounding success for all parties involved. AEW did another massive gate in Chicago, a city so good to the Khan company that some have even linked a potential Jaguars move from Jacksonville to the soon-to-be-vacant Soldier Field, NJPW […]

You’ve gotta give it to Tony Khan, he certainly tries his best in AEW. Sure, every idea he has doesn’t always hit the mark, and on occasion, the ideas he greenlights can get downright goofy – The Nightmare Collective, anyone? – but he doesn’t maliciously book people he doesn’t like in a way that embarrasses […]

When Ric Flair took the ring with Andrade El Idolo for a 25-minute match against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, it felt like the end of an era in the journey that began in Jim Crockett Promotion, progressed in WCW and then WWE before ultimately ending in TNA with a whimper, not a roar. Goodness, […]

“Wrestling is not a love story” these words, written by the man once known as Bray Wyatt to the WWE Universe, began one heck of a personal essay on the Twitter account of WYATT 6 – aka Mr. Windham Rotunda – and casually set the professional wrestling world ablaze on an otherwise unsuspecting Sunday evening. […]

Don’t-call-him-Tommaso Ciampa might just be the hottest wrestler in the entire WWE Universe. He’s turned a weird initial run and a seemingly-ill-fated partnership with The Miz into a money angle that’s been drawing praise from across the industry, has delivered promo after promo that each would be the best of a lesser performer’s career, and […]

Things have been going deceptively well for Q.T. Marshall and The Factory in AEW. He’s won his last three matches, one as a solo performer and twice in multi-man competition, had a match at Forbidden Door against the Bishamon team of Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI, and even added another wrestler to his stable in Cole […]

In wrestling, there are very few moral victories. Sure, occasionally, a long-standing feud will end in such a way that both parties are elevated at the end of it, but for the most part, one performer wins, one performer loses – barring a 60-minute time limit draw like the one between “Hangman” Adam Page and […]

In the world of wrestling, there’s nothing more exciting than the christening of a new championship belt; it presents the promise of exciting new matches, more performers featured on Pay-Per-Views, and even if the purpose of the belt is rather confusing, as was the initial rollout of the AEW All-Atlantic Championship ahead of Forbidden Door, […]

In 2022, the wrestling world is as open as it has ever been; AEW stars show up to wrestle at Ric Flair-branded matches, ROH Championships are defended on AEW television shows, and even AEW’s current Interim Champion, Jon Moxley, is pulling double-duty in GCW as that company’s top title holder too. And yet, some doors […]

The first Saturday of August has been a very good day indeed for fans of Ring of Honor. Not only did fans get to see Claudio Castagnoli, the current ROH World Champion, wrestle an absolute gem of a main event at Battle of the Belts III versus the brightest star in all of DDT Pro […]

You’ve got to give it to Tony Khan; while there isn’t currently a Ring of Honor television show, he certainly knows how to book the ROH World Championship to make it feel like something special. Initially booking Claudio Castagnoli to take the belt off of the promotion’s interim-turned-proper belt holder Jonathan Gresham following a heel […]

Thunder Rosa has had Jamie Hayter’s number over their shared time in the squared circle both inside of AEW and beyond. Though the duo have wrestled each other on eight previous occasions before Battle of the Belts III, once in singles action, four times in tag team action, three times as part of trios, and […]

Since arriving in AEW, Jay Lethal really wanted to win a championship. He’s tried his hands at the TNT Championship, the AAA Mega Championship, the ROH World Championship, the FTW Championship, and most recently, the Ring of Honor Television Championship at Death Before Dishonor. Granted, he’s lost every one of them, but he’s certainly trying […]

Oh, what a difference a week can make to the NXT/WWE Universe. Since fully taking over as the EVP of Global Talent Strategy and Development/chief creative mind of the WWE Universe ahead of the penultimate edition of Smackdown before SummerSlam, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has brought wrestling back to television, nixed the 24/7 Championship from […]

After AEW Dark Elevation, AEW Dark, AEW Dynamite, AEW Dark Elevation, again, and AEW Rampage, Tony Khan’s week-long tour de wrestling will officially culminate at Battle of the Belts III, an hour-long showcase of three of the promotion’s 60 six titles, 12 if you factor in the ROH World Heavyweight, Television, Pure, Women’s, 6 Man, […]